


Love is Not Obvious (For These Two at Least)

by lovelyavengers (fandomsandxfiles)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Vignettes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27870758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandxfiles/pseuds/lovelyavengers
Summary: On his first day at the compound, Bucky Barnes found friendship in one person: you. Now, he's grappling with a new emotion, one he hasn't felt in years.Or alternatively: a collection of moments, of times that two people failed to see what was right in front of them.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 77





	1. A New Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This concept came from a ficlet I did on tumblr, that eventually got a sequel, so now I'm going to make it several chapters and I wanted to post it here!
> 
> You can also catch up with me on my tumblr fic blog [@fandomsandxfiles-writes](https://fandomsandxfiles-writes.tumblr.com/) :)

You were sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee when Steve walked in. “Hey Y/N,” he said. “I just wanted to let you know that Bucky is going to be arriving today.”

Bucky Barnes was actually going to join the team. Steve had been trying to convince Tony and Fury for months to let him live at the compound and train, but they had always said no. But last month they changed their mind, and Steve had been preparing for Bucky’s arrival ever since. Your bedroom was in a hallway that no one else slept in, so Bucky was going to be your neighbor. Steve had checked with you to make sure you were okay with it, and you had no issues. It might actually be nice to have someone living in the same hallway for once. You nodded at Steve and took another sip of your coffee. “Do you need me to do anything?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ll probably come and find you later and introduce you to him, this way he knows you’ll be next door to him.”

After a few more exchanges with Steve, you went back to your coffee. Soon the rest of the day had almost passed, and you had yet to meet your new neighbor. But you had just settled into bed to watch some tv when there was a tentative knock on your door. Pulling it open, you saw a man with long brown hair and a metal arm, the one and only Bucky Barnes.

“Uh hi,” he said. “Sorry to bother you, but Steve never showed me where the linens are and my bed doesn’t have sheets right now.”

“It’s not a bother at all!” you said. "Come on, I’ll show you the linen closet.“ You led him down the hall and opened a door to reveal piles of towels, washcloths, and bed sheets. Grabbing a set of sheets, you handed them to him. "I’m Y/N by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Bucky,” he said quietly. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Do you want help putting the sheets on the bed?” you asked. “It might be easier with two people.”

Bucky was silent for a minute before slowly nodding. “If you don’t mind.”

The two of you were mostly silent as you helped him fix his room up a little, even bringing him a fuzzy blanket from your stash to “brighten things up a little.” You wished him goodnight and went back to your own room.

You definitely weren’t expecting another light knock on your door the next morning. Thankfully you were awake, and you opened the door once again to find Bucky on the other side of it. “Do you want to eat breakfast together?” he asked, in a voice much too small for his body. “I don’t really know anyone other than Steve, and I think he’s training right now.”

“Of course,” you said brightly, stepping out of your room and shutting the door behind you. “Come on, I make the _best_ coffee, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

Your heart swelled at the sincere smile he gave you. You were going to get him to laugh next, you decided. He deserved to be truly happy.


	2. Movie Night

After that day, Bucky became your best friend in the compound. You did almost everything together, and it was soon known throughout the team that wherever one of you went, the other was not far behind. Bucky was quiet at first, but he became more comfortable with you as the days went on, and you hoped that he was feeling better about moving to the compound in the first place. 

He was still wary about frequenting the more trafficked rooms of the compound, because he didn't have the best relationship with Tony. Steve had finally convinced Tony to let Bucky stay at the compound, and Tony understood that Bucky wasn't responsible for the deaths of his parents because he was brainwashed, but he was still grieving the truth he was forced to learn. So Bucky tended to stay in the shadows. 

But this week, Tony was away at a science convention and most of the others had gone on various missions, so you managed to coax Bucky out of his room for a little bit, for enough time to watch a movie with you. It took all day for him to finally agree, but that didn't stop you. 

You went all out for this. Bowls of freshly popped popcorn were sitting on the coffee table, and you had a pot of hot cocoa already starting to heat up on the stove. You were just getting blankets from your room when you heard him close his door. Seconds later, he was in your doorway. You gave him a bright smile and handed him a blanket. 

"So what are we watching?" he asked as the two of you made your way into the living room. 

"Whatever you want," you told him. "Start looking through the options while I get the hot cocoa." 

When you returned with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, he had already selected a movie. "The Princess Bride, good choice," you said as you settled down on the couch next to him. "You'll like this one." 

You had left some room between you and him, there was at least a couch cushion between the two of you, but Bucky looked at you oddly. "Sit here," he said quietly, patting the seat next to him. "We can share a bowl of popcorn." With a smile, you scooted over and settled in right next to him. 

Halfway through the movie, the bowl of popcorn laid on the coffee table long forgotten, and the once full cocoa mugs were empty and cold. Your eyes were starting to droop, and you laid back against the couch and closed them. Next thing you knew, you were fast asleep. 

Your soft snores got Bucky's attention, and he very gently adjusted your body so that you were laying against him, fixing your blanket to cover more of you as well. You would sleep better that way. What Bucky didn't count on though, was falling asleep on the couch himself. 

***

It was well past midnight when Steve and Sam returned from their mission, dead tired and ready to get some sleep. Sam was already halfway to the elevator when he heard Sam call his name. "Come here," Steve said, looking into the living room. "You have to see this." 

Sam didn't know what he was expecting, but this wasn't it. You and Bucky were curled up on the couch, fast asleep. Bucky's arms were curled around you, and he looked more peaceful than he has in a long time, the scowl that Sam thought was a permanent fixture on Barnes' face was gone. There were empty mugs and half-eaten bowls of popcorn on the table, and the television was playing whatever reruns of a TV show from the 90's that Sam couldn't quite remember the name of, obviously on autoplay from whatever the two of you had actually started watching that evening. 

He couldn't see that much of you, but he was sure that you were sleeping soundly. Sam worried about you sometimes, but it seemed that you had found true comfort and friendship in Bucky. And almost instantly, Sam realized what he had to do. 

He would start his matchmaking plan in the morning. Now, he really needed a shower and some sleep. 


	3. Deflections and Declarations

You weren't sure what you did to get Sam involved in your love life, but he was insufferable. It was like he suddenly decided that you needed a boyfriend, and he kept trying to set you up on dates. As much as you appreciated him as a friend, you would definitely prefer it if he kept his wingman duties to his suit and didn't get involved in your love life. 

You complained to Bucky about it too, pretty much all the time. That's how you learned that Bucky was also being hounded by Sam about his love life. You knew that Sam meant well, but Bucky didn't see the silver lining in it. He was just starting to get comfortable with everyone in the compound, he didn't want to branch too far out of his comfort zone just yet. You both continued to ignore Sam, but he didn't give up that easily. 

One morning, you were peacefully sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of coffee when Sam walked in. "Y/N, when are you going to let me fix you up with someone?" he said, pouring himself a cup and leaning against the counter to face you. "You need to get out more." 

"Sam, I've told you before, I'm not looking for a relationship right now," you said.

"Yeah, why is that?" he pressed, a small smirk on his face. "Is it because you've already got your eyes on a certain one-armed soldier?" 

Your eyes immediately widened and you almost spat out your coffee. "No!" you said.

Sam raised his eyebrows at you. "Really?" he said, not believing a word you said. "You spend a suspicious amount of time with Robocop you know. I think Tony and Natasha have a bet on whether or not you're secretly hooking up." 

You didn't think you could get any more embarrassed, but you were apparently wrong. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but we aren't anything more than friends Wilson," you managed to stutter out. "And I don't like him!" 

Unfortunately, that was also the moment that Bucky himself walked into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You don't like who?" he yawned, completely oblivious to what was going on. 

"Nobody," you said quickly, as Sam tried to conceal his laughter. Thankfully, Bucky let the situation go. 

***

You had decided to take a walk around the compound one day, but stopped when you heard Sam and Bucky's voices in the living room. "Why won't you let me set you up on one blind date?" Sam was saying. "Come on man, it's been how long since you had a girlfriend? You need to get out more!"

"I told you already, I don't think I'm ready to date right now," Bucky protested. 

"You have to get back out there at some point! We'll go out one night, I'll play wingman and it'll be fun!" 

"Maybe it'll be fun for you," Bucky deadpanned, and you had to fight back a laugh so they wouldn't hear you eavesdropping. "But I already-"

"Oh, already what?" Sam cut in. "Does that mean you have a crush?" 

You couldn't see them, but you could bet your right foot Bucky had gone bright red at Sam's insinuation. "No!" Bucky said quickly. "I told you, I just don't feel ready to get back into the dating scene yet." 

"Yeah, but you said 'already,' which means that you definitely like someone!" Sam said, not letting the topic go. "Who is it? You don't see that many people, so it has to be someone in the compound! Is it Steve? Natasha? Oh, I know! It's Y/N!" You didn't know what to do, because you definitely didn't expect the conversation to go here. There was a few moments of silence, then Sam yelped in pain. "Ow!" 

"I already told you, she's just a friend." 

Your heart sank a little at his declaration, if you were being completely honest with yourself. Even though you insisted to Sam that he was nothing more than a friend, you found yourself falling in love with the stoic man who slept in the room next to yours. You were completely comfortable with each other, you felt safe with him, and you knew he cared about you, and that was all that it took. You had recently started sitting closer to him on the couch when you had movie nights or watched TV, and the two of you had fallen asleep together on the couch on more than one occasion. There was something so soothing about your friendship with Bucky, so warm and kind, and you had fallen in love with it, with him. 

And you understood why he was fighting Sam's attempts to get him a girlfriend, and possibly get the two of you together, you couldn't blame him for that, but hearing those words definitely stung a little. 

You quietly slunk away from the wall of the living room and you heard their conversation fade away, but you were trapped in your own thoughts. Maybe next time Sam offered to set you up on a blind date, you would accept. There wasn't much use in acting lovesick like this. 


	4. A Blind Date to Remember

You didn't want to lose Bucky as a friend, so you tried your best to squish your feelings down and try to get over him. You started to spend more time apart as well, and you often wondered if Bucky noticed the change if your attitude towards him, or just that you were less excitable. If he did notice the change in your behavior, he didn't mention it, and you were fine with that. 

You finally accepted Sam's offer to set you up on a blind date, and he was automatically suspicious. "Why now?" he said. "What changed your mind?" 

You obviously couldn't tell him the real reason, so you shrugged and tried to not your emotions show on your face. "Maybe you're right, maybe I do need to get out there and start dating," you said. "After all, it's just one date, it's not the end of the world." 

"Are you sick of something?" Sam said, a puzzled look on his face. "Because I could've sworn I heard you say the phrase 'you're right.'" 

You rolled your eyes. "If you're not serious about your offer to set me up, I could always go see Natasha-" 

"No, no, I'm serious!" he backtracked. "And you already told me yes, no take backs." 

"Fine, but you better not set me up with anyone weird or I'll kill you." 

"Oh don't worry. I've already got the perfect person to set you up with." 

"Oh no. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." 

"Hey!" 

"I'm kidding!" It was just a blind date after all, what could possibly go wrong? 

***

Sam had half of his plan complete, but he also needed to convince a certain brooding soldier to agree to a blind date. Both Y/N and Bucky had denied their feelings for the other when Sam questioned them, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew the two of you were hiding your feelings for the other (albeit not very well), and he also knew that neither of you would actually do anything about it unless he stepped in. But since the two of you were stubborn idiots, he had to resort to trickery to actually get the two of you together. 

Surprisingly, it didn't take that much needling for Bucky to agree to the blind date. When Sam asked why he had changed his tune all of the sudden, Bucky said that you had mentioned that you had agreed to it and he figured that it was just one date. Sam noticed the sad look that Bucky wore when he talked about you, but the two of you hadn't had an argument or anything, which meant that Bucky was all mopey because he thought you were going on a date with someone else. 

Soon, every piece of Sam's plan was in place. He told both of you separately about your dates, and he strategically picked a week where everyone was pretty busy, so there was less of a chance that you would talk to each other and figure everything out. Sam also made sure that you were going to meet at the restaurant, this way he wasn't anywhere in the near vicinity when the two of you figured it out and he could begin to plan how he could defend himself when the two of you returned. 

Then, he sat back and waited. 

*** 

When you arrived at the restaurant, you were nervous. Those nerves only amplified when the hostess told you that your date was already there. She led you to the table, your heart beating out of your chest, one that almost jumped out of your body when you saw Bucky sitting there. 

You were definitely going to kill Sam. This was all his doing, and you knew it. 

"Y/N?" Bucky was surprised too. "What are you doing here?" 

"You were set up on a blind date by Sam right?" you asked. "I think he's trying to tell us something." 

"I'm going to kill him," Bucky muttered to himself, and you laughed. 

"Get in line," you quipped, and you saw a smile cross Bucky's face. 

"You know, we can leave if you want," Bucky said softly. "I know you were expecting a real date tonight." 

"Bucky, just because we're friends doesn't mean you're not a 'real date,'" you said, feeling a bit bold. 

"This is a real date?" 

Your heart sank a little, but you tried not to show it. "I'm just saying that we don't have to leave if you don't want to," you said. "It doesn't have to be a real date." 

"What if I wanted it to be?" his voice was barely audible. 

"Then we can just stay right here," you said, reaching across the table to grasp his hand. 

The rest of the evening went by quicker than you would have liked, and what you once feared would be an awkward struggle turned into one of the best nights you'd had in a long time. Conversation flowed effortlessly, and you almost didn't want to go back to the compound for the night, because it would mean that it was over. In your head, this date lived in a bubble, and when you returned home, you were worried that it would all seem like a dream. 

But Bucky took your hand and the two of you walked up to your rooms together, and those fears started to melt away. "I want you to know that tonight was the best date I'd been on in a long time," you said.

"Could I take you on another date?" he asked, and you could start to see the James Barnes that Steve used to tell stories about when he got into Thor's liquor, the smooth talking charmer who could make any girl smile.

You nodded. "I'd love that. But let's not tell Sam about this for a little while, he'd get too big of a head knowing that he succeeded with the blind date thing." 

His smile was contagious, and soon you were standing right between your bedrooms. Before you could really register it, he had swooped down and kissed you right on the lips, but it was over before you could kiss back. "Goodnight Y/N," he said, as he shut the door to his room. 

"James Barnes!" you whisper-yelled. "Get back over here and kiss me again!" 

The door opened again, and Bucky obliged. "If you insist." 

It was the best kiss of your life. 

_\- the end -_


End file.
